Retiree

by John Douglas Powers

Cybernetic life didn't live up to the marketing buzz. The thoughts inside the organic replacement brains seemed as real to their owners as their original memories, recorded before their deaths. But their emotions were very different. When asked, as she often was, "What's it like to be a cyborg," Alana would either sanguinely reply that it was better than the alternative, or snidely offer to give the questioner the opportunity to find out.

Thirty-five years ago, Detective Alana Graves was killed by a terrorist's car bomb. Two weeks later, the police paid for her resurrection as a cyborg—a process euphemistically called, "retirement." In the intervening years, she rose to the rank of Detective Chief Inspector, despite constantly bumping into an invisible "silicon ceiling" of cyber-discrimination.

Alana took well to police work, immersing herself in her career. The dangers were of little concern, as she could be resurrected again, as long as she remained on the good side of the law. However, when her close friend and long-time assistant, Detective Benjamin Rhys, is killed in the line of duty and then denied the same cybernetic retirement benefit she had enjoyed for decades, something inside her ostensibly calm exterior snaps.

Genres: Science Fiction

270 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 25, 2013

About the author

Doug Powers was born on Labor Day in a sanitarium. He began writing, poorly, as early as elementary school. He continued learning the trade for decades, taking long breaks to earn a living, further educate himself, or engage in his other creative pursuit, game design. He supported himself as a software quality assurance analyst engaged with companies such as Turner Entertainment Groups and IBM Corporation.

On New Years Day, 2013, Pangenre published "Vegas Apocalypse: The Crash," on which Doug worked as supplemental writer and editor. He also worked with Frederick Noble on the sequel, "Vegas Apocalypse: The Cult."

"Retiree" (2013) was his first solo novel. It is currently available through the Amazon Kindle Store. "Retiree 2.0" (2014) is the sequel to 2013's "Retiree." "The Great Outback" (2007), a series of screenplays, was his first completed major work of fiction. It is currently being adapted to a novel by the author.

In 2008, Doug spearheaded the creation of Pangenre, LLC along with Frederick Noble and Ronald G. Moore, and is currently co-owner and editor-in-chief for Pangenre's publications. Pangenre launched in March of 2010 behind the "Pangenre RPG System" and "The Second World War," and has published several other games and game supplements since then.

All of Doug's published works can be found through www.pangenre.com.

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not going to read this book.

Who The Hell! thought that this was, in any way, a reasonable cover?

John Douglas Powers, grow a social conscience!